Azerbaijani grandmaster Aydin Suleymanli has made a significant leap in the updated FIDE world rankings.
According to İdman.Biz, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) released the latest rankings of the world’s players as of 1 May 2026.
Under the new list, Suleymanli gained 12 rating points to reach 2665 and climbed 15 places to 49th in the world. His progress follows an outstanding performance at the recent European Individual Chess Championship in Katowice, where he won a bronze medal without suffering a single defeat.
Notably, both his rating of 2665 and his position of 49th mark career-best achievements for Suleymanli.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov remains the highest-ranked Azerbaijani player. He added two points over the past month and now sits 26th in the world with a rating of 2717, moving up one place.
Also inside the top 100 are Teimour Radjabov (2689) in 39th place, Eltaj Safarli (2648) in 70th, and Rauf Mamedov (2636) in 90th.
For the first time, two players from Uzbekistan feature in the world’s top 10 – Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov. The latter won the Candidates Tournament last month and earned the right to challenge reigning world champion Dommaraju Gukesh of India. Gukesh, currently ranked 18th with a rating of 2732, is set to play the title match in November-December this year.
The current FIDE top 10 is as follows: Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2840), Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2792), Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2788), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan, 2780), Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan, 2776), Anish Giri (Netherlands, 2767), Vincent Keymer (Germany, 2759), Alireza Firouzja (France, 2759), Wesley So (USA, 2754), Wei Yi (China, 2753).
Among Azerbaijani women, Ulviyya Fataliyeva remains the leading player, ranked 26th in the world with a rating of 2450. Other Azerbaijani players in the top 100 are Gunay Mammadzada (2374) in 69th place, Govhar Beydullayeva (2368) in 72nd, and Khanim Balajayeva (2350) in 94th.
